Woman arrested for attempted bribery

Lüderitz-A 26-year-old woman was arrested last week on Wednesday on charges of attempting to bribe a NaTIS examination official with N$1,000 so that her lover could acquire a driving licence without doing a driving test.
The suspect was arrested on the spot as she was about to pay the bribe so that her boyfriend, who had previously always failed NaTIS (Namibian Traffic Information System) tests, could get the driving licence.

The NaTIS examination officer had alerted the police who set up a trap and ensnared the suspect at her residence, where the bribe was to be handed over after working hours. The police arrested the suspect as she was handing over the money.

The woman Mirjam Smith appeared in the Lüderitz Magistrate’s Court last Thursday, where she was granted bail of N$1,200. The case was postponed to October 4 for further police investigations.
Lüderitz NATIS examiners told a New Era journalist how concerned they were about recent incidents in which their names were used in connection with bribes.

People are using NaTIS examining officials’ names to bribe people for them to supposedly obtain a driving licence. The scam has been going on for nearly a month now.

One of the examiners complained his name has been tarnished. Suspects target residents who have no driving licence and who wish to obtain a licence illegally. By using the names of NaTIS examining officials they swindle money from people desperate to get a driving licence illegally.

It is believed that between July 28 to August 2, an amount of N$9,000 was deposited in a bank account in Ondangwa of a suspect who uses different names of NaTIS officials to get money from residents.

“I call upon the Namibian Police to look up this matter and to take action. We are no longer safe in our workplace or houses as people think we are swindlers and are not giving them what was promised to them by the suspects,” said one examining official.

“My life is in danger, because everywhere I go I am being pointed fingers at as the man that had been paid to deliver a driving licence but did not fulfil the promise. I believe my life and those of my colleagues are in danger, and we call upon the police to intervene before the situation gets out of hand,” said an official who requested anonymity.